Queen of Hope representatives, Moriah Jones, Olivia Lowry, Brooklyn Jones and Kennedy Jones collected more than 500 teddy bears as part of their service-learning project and donated them Wednesday to the UNC Health Southeastern Foundation. Shown are Kennedy Jones, left; Brooklyn Jones, UNC Health Southeastern Foundation Director Sissy Grantham; Director of Specialty Care Anita Thurman, DNP; Olivia Lowry; Moriah Jones; Emergency Services Director Sonja Hilburn; and Chief Nursing Officer Renae Taylor.

Queen of Hope representatives, Moriah Jones, Olivia Lowry, Brooklyn Jones and Kennedy Jones collected more than 500 teddy bears as part of their service-learning project and donated them Wednesday to the UNC Health Southeastern Foundation. Shown are Kennedy Jones, left; Brooklyn Jones, UNC Health Southeastern Foundation Director Sissy Grantham; Director of Specialty Care Anita Thurman, DNP; Olivia Lowry; Moriah Jones; Emergency Services Director Sonja Hilburn; and Chief Nursing Officer Renae Taylor.

<p>Queen of Hope representatives, Moriah Jones, Olivia Lowry, Brooklyn Jones and Kennedy Jones collected more than 500 teddy bears as part of their service-learning project and donated them Wednesday to the UNC Health Southeastern Foundation. Shown are Kennedy Jones, left; Brooklyn Jones, UNC Health Southeastern Foundation Director Sissy Grantham; Director of Specialty Care Anita Thurman, DNP; Olivia Lowry; Moriah Jones; Emergency Services Director Sonja Hilburn; and Chief Nursing Officer Renae Taylor.</p>

Queen of Hope representatives, Moriah Jones, Olivia Lowry, Brooklyn Jones and Kennedy Jones collected more than 500 teddy bears as part of their service-learning project and donated them Wednesday to the UNC Health Southeastern Foundation. Shown are Kennedy Jones, left; Brooklyn Jones, UNC Health Southeastern Foundation Director Sissy Grantham; Director of Specialty Care Anita Thurman, DNP; Olivia Lowry; Moriah Jones; Emergency Services Director Sonja Hilburn; and Chief Nursing Officer Renae Taylor.

<p>Royal Majestic N.C. Queen of Hope Moriah Jones places just so one of more than 500 teddy bears donated Wednesday to the UNC Health Southeastern Foundation. She and her fellow Queen of Hope representatives, Olivia Lowry, Brooklyn Jones and Kennedy Jones, collected the bears as a community service project in memory of Moriah’s late brother, Jeremiah Jones, who would have been 3 on April 27.</p>

Royal Majestic N.C. Queen of Hope Moriah Jones places just so one of more than 500 teddy bears donated Wednesday to the UNC Health Southeastern Foundation. She and her fellow Queen of Hope representatives, Olivia Lowry, Brooklyn Jones and Kennedy Jones, collected the bears as a community service project in memory of Moriah’s late brother, Jeremiah Jones, who would have been 3 on April 27.

LUMBERTON — UNC Health Southeastern just got a lot more cuddly.

Moriah Jones, Olivia Lowry, Brooklyn Jones and Kennedy Jones, all representatives of the Queen of Hope State Pageant, dropped off 546 teddy bears Wednesday to the UNC Health Southeastern Foundation as part of their monthly community service project.

The teddy bear drive, which ran from April 5 to April 30, hit close to home by coinciding with what would have been the third birthday of Jeremiah Jones, Moriah’s late brother. Jeremiah was born April 27, 2018, at UNC Health Southeastern’s medical center and passed away May 1, 2018, because of health complications.

“During that time people were overly generous, supportive, and provided emotional support,” said Morgan Jones, Jeremiah’s mom. “They gave us things, whether it be prayer, clothes or a teddy bear. A teddy bear is just a toy, but it becomes so much more than a toy when it’s given in a time of grief or bringing comfort to somebody.”

Morgan said she wanted to help the girls offer what was offered to her.

The bears will be distributed to several pediatric units at the hospital and to Alzheimer’s patients in the health care system. The expectation was to collect 75 to 100 bears for the drive, but that goal was surpassed thanks in part to the generosity of so many people.

“All parts of Robeson County donated,” Morgan said. “Folks from all parts of Robeson County mailed and dropped off teddy bears; Bladen County too, Wilmington, Pennsylvania, Michigan.”

“We’re overwhelmed by the 500 bears these girls have put together,” said Sissy Grantham, UNC Health Southeastern Foundation director.

“It’s so great because it can be a distraction for children that are sick,” she added.

The bears can also be given to help comfort children of patients who may be in the Emergency Room, Grantham said.

The bears had to be new and wrapped to fit federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to ensure the safety of the patients. The bears will be kept at the Foundation’s office. Distribution to the UNC Health Southeastern departments will start next week.

Tomeka Sinclair can be reached at [email protected] or 910-416-5865.